Shoe tree



D. S. DRURY Jan. 16, 1934.

SHOE TREE Filed April 14, 1952 Patented Jan. 16 1934 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoe trees.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved shoe tree which engages the shoe on the exterior and holds the shoe in desired position so that the sole of the shoe will remain flat, or substantially flat. By having the shoe tree engage the shoe on its exterior, the interior of the shoe is left completely unobstructed, thus facilitating 1o ventilation.

More specifically another object of the invention is to provide a novel shoe tree construction having a novel engaging mechanism for engaging the forward or toe end of the shoe and holding it clamped against a longitudinal supporting member so that the sole will be kept flat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree which not only engages the shoe at the toe and at the rear end of the shoe but which also engages the arch portion of the sole to cause the shoe to be held in proper position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means for engaging the shoe at its rear end to cause the heel to be held firmly against the supporting member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree, having the above mentioned characteristics and advantages, which is freely adjustable to accommodate shoes of different shapes and sizes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawing for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a shoe illustrating one form of improved shoe tree in applied position thereon, parts of the shoe tree being shown in vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the improved shoe tree.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the shoe tree.

Fig. 4 is a partial view illustrating a modification primarily designed for use upon ladies shoes.

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation illustrating the manner in which the shoe tree may be suspended while being applied to a shoe.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the improved shoe tree comprises a longitudinal supporting member formed mainly of two parts. These parts are indicated at and 11. The part 10 has a longitudinally 55, extending slot 12 formed therein, this slot being fairly long to provide for considerable adjustment. The other part 11 has a similar slot 13 formed therein, this being arranged near the forward end and being comparatively short. On the upper side of the upper part there is positioned an angular spring or resilient member 14 which is designed to engage the arch portion 15 of the shoe S. This spring or resilient member has a rivet 16 secured thereto, which rivet has a shank the upper portion of which is provided with parallel sides. This portion is indicated at 17. It is designed to fit slots 12 and 13 snugly to keep the parts 10 and 11 in longitudinal alignment. The lower end of the rivet shank is threaded and is preferably provided with a wing nut 18. By loosening the Wing nut it will be appreciated that the rivet is thus loosened to enable the parts 10 and 11 to be adjusted longitudinally with respect to each other and in this manner the effective length of the supporting member can be varied. At the same time the position of the spring or resilient member 14 can be adjusted with respect to the longitudinal member so as to space the spring from the heel of the shoe.

Near the forward end of the longitudinal member formed by parts 10 and 11 there is secured an extension forming member 19. This is fastened to the part 10 as by rivet 20. It is preferably bifurcated, as shown in Figure 2, having two forwardly divergent extensions 21 and 22. These extensions have their forward ends bent upwardly and then rearwardly providing hooks 23 and 24 adapted to be positioned over the forward edge of the shoe sole 25. Arcuate members 26 and 27 are pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon these hooks 23 and 24, such as by rivets 28. These members are capable of pivoting freely with respect to the hooks so as to accommodate themselves or automatically adjust themselves to the shape of the toe of the shoe S. The under surfaces of the arcuate members 26 and 27 engage upon the top of the shoe sole 25 around the toe. A short distance in front of the rivet 20 there is a screw 29, preferably provided with a Winged head 30. The screw is threaded through the extension forming member 19 and has its upper end extending through the longitudinal member 10 and riveted over so as to have a swiveled connection therewith. On turning this screw the extension forming. member may be forced downwardly to hold the forward end of the shoe sole 25 firmly against the part 10, that is'fiat in a longitudinal direction. The bifurcated extension, byreason of its being bifurcated, positions the arcuate members on the sides of the toe so that the sole is held flat thereby in a transverse direction also.

The rear end of part 11 is bent upwardly as indicated at 31. Adjacent its upper end it is provided with a slot 32. A hooked member 33 has a handle 34 extending through the slot. This handle is slightly wider than the slot and is attached to the hooked member 33 as by rivets. The forward edge of the handle is beveled to present a sharp upper edge engageable with serrations 35 formed on portion 31 on both sides of slot 32. In this manner a type of ratchet connection is established between the hooked member 33 and portion 31. Near the bend in part 11 a portion 36 of the body of the part is struck out and reversely bent to form a hook, as clearly shown in Figure 1, which is open toward the forward end of the shoe tree.

The operations and advantages of the improved shoe tree are as follows. The longitudinal member is first adjusted to the proper length by loosening wing nut 18. To facilitate adjustment suitable indicia or graduations, indicated at 37, may be formed on one of the parts of the longitudinal member. When the shoe tree has been adjusted for length, the wing nut is tightened. The shoe S is then applied and the extreme forward end of the shoe sole 25 is positioned beneath the arcuate members 26 and 27, these members automatically pivoting and accommodating themselves to the shape of the shoe. The handle or" the hooked member 33 is then adjusted to dis engage the serrations 35 until the hook is positioned over the top edge of the shoe at the rear end thereof. The handle is then forced downwardly, causing the hooked member to force the heel of the shoe firmly against the upper surface of the longitudinal member. On release of the handle its sharp edge will enter one of the serrations and thus lock the hooked member 33 in adjusted position. The screw 29 is then turned to force the extension forming member 19 downwardly, thus fastening the shoe sole 25 firmly against the upper surface of part 10. With the shoe tree thus applied, it will be appreciated that the shoe sole 25 is held perfectly flat and at the same time the heel is held firmly in position. The spring or resilient member 14 engages the arched portion of the sole assisting in keeping the shoe in shape. The entire interior of the shoe is left open, thus allowing for the free circulation of air therein to keep the shoe dry. When the shoe has been applied to the shoe tree it may be suspended from a suitable rack bar 38, as shown in Figure 5, by means of the hook provided by portion 36L In Figure 4 I have illustrated a modification primarily designed to be used in conjunction with ladies shoes although it may be employed on other shoes is desired. In the construction of ladies shoes the shoe soles are ordinarily so extremely thin that the holding of the forward edge firmly against the longitudinal member 0 would not assure that the remainder of the shoe sole was being held flat. These thin soles are comparatively flexible as compared with the stiifness of a shoe sole on the conventional gentlemans shoe. To take care of this situation and to eliminate possibility of scarring or damaging the upper of the shoe, Figure 4 illustrates the forward end of the longitudinal member, indicated by reference character 40. The extension forming member 41 is fastened thereto as by rivet 42 and carries the screw 43. This extension member instead of being hooked to engage the forward edge of the shoe sole carries a suitable flexible strap 44 which may be of fabric or any equivalent flexiblematerial. This strap may be fastened to the extension forming member as by rivets 45. It is made of such size as to receive the toe 46 of the shoe so that on tightening the screw 43 the shoe sole will be held flat against the supporting member.

From the above described constructions it will be appreciated that a relatively simple, novel, advantageous shoe tree is provided. The shoe tree engages the shoe on the exterior thereof only, except for the end of. the hooked member 33, thus leaving the interior of the shoe unobstructed. The shoe is also held in proper position and the parts of the shoe tree may be easily and quickly adjusted to accommodate shoes of different shapes and sizes.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a shoe tree, means adapted to be positioned beneath the bottom of a shoe sole, said carrying an extension extending upwardover the forward end of the shoe sole, and means pivotaliy mounted upon said extension adapted to be caused to en age over the top of the forward end of the shoe sole, the pivotal connection enabling the last mentioned means to accommodate itself to difierent shoes.

2. In a shoe tree, means adapted to be positioned beneath the bottom of a shoe sole, said means carrying an extension extending upwardly over the forward end of the shoe sole, means pivotally mounted upon said extension adapted to be caused to engage over the top of the forward end of the shoe sole, the pivotal connection enabling the last mentioned means to accommo- 11";

date itself to different shoes, and means for forcing the extension downwardly with respect to the first mentioned means.

3. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member adjustable as to length adapted to be positioned beneath the bottom of a shoe, means carried said member engageable upon the forward end of the shoe to hold the toe of the shoe against said longitudinal member, means carried by said member engageable upon the back of the shoe to hold the shoe against said longitudinal member, and means carried by said longitudinal member engageable upon the under side of the arch of the shoe sole.

4. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member adjustable as to length adapted to be positioned beneath the bottom of a shoe, means carried by said member engageable upon the forward end of the shoe to hold the toe of the shoe against said longitudinal member, means carried by said member engageable upon the back of the shoe to hold the shoe against said longitudinal member, and means carried by said longitudinal member engageable upon the under side of the arch of the shoe sole, the arch engaging means being resilient.

5. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member adjustable as to length adapted to be positioned beneath the bottom of a shoe, means carried by said member engageable upon the forward engageable upon the under side of the arch of the shoe sole, the arch engaging means being longitudinally adjustable.

6. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member adapted to be positioned against the bottom of a shoe, means carried by the forward end of said member for engaging the forward end of a shoe and holding it against said longitudinal member, and means carried by the rear end of said longitudinal member engageable upon the rear of the shoe at the top thereof for holding the heel of the shoe against said longitudinal member.

'7. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member adapted to be positioned against the bottom of a shoe, means carried by the forward end of said member for engaging the forward end of a shoe and holding it against said longitudinal member, and means having a ratchet connection with the rear of said longitudinal member engageable upon the top of the shoe at the rear thereof for holding the heel against said longitudinal member.

8. In a shoe tree, a longitudinal member adapted to be positioned against the bottom of a shoe, an extension secured to the forward end of said longitudinal member engageable upon the forward end of the shoe to hold the toe of the shoe against the longitudinal member, and threaded means for causing the extension to tighten the toe against the longitudinal member.

9. In a shoe tree, a longitudinal member adapted to be positioned against the bottom of a shoe, an extension secured to the forward end of said longitudinal member engageable upon the forward end of the shoe to hold the toe of the shoe against the longitudinal member, and threaded means for adjusting the position of the extension with respect to the longitudinal member, the engaging portion of the extension being provided by a pair of pivoted arcuate members.

10. In a shoe tree, a longitudinal member adapted to be positioned against the bottom of a shoe, an extension secured to the forward end of said longitudinal member engageable upon the forward end of the shoe to hold the toe of the shoe against the longitudinal member, and threaded means for adjusting the position of the extension with respect to the longitudinal member, the engaging portion of the extension being provided by a flexible strip engageable over the top of the shoe.

11. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member formed of two parts at least one of which is slotted, means connecting the parts through the slot providing for adjustment of the longitudinal member as to length, means at the forward end of the longitudinal member engageable upon the toe of a shoe to hold it against the longitudinal member, means at the rear of the longitudinal member engageable upon the rear of the shoe to hold the heel against the longitudinal member, and arch engaging means carried by the longitudinal member engageable upon the arch of the shoe sole.

12. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member formed of two parts, both of which are longitudinally slotted, connecting means extending through the slots and serving to keep the members in longitudinal alignment, said connecting means providing for adjustment of the longitudinal member as to length, an extension secured to the forward end of the longitudinal member engageable upon the toe of a shoe, means providing for adjusting said extension to cause the toe of the shoe to be held thereby against the forward end of the longitudinal member, the rear of the longitudinal member having an upstanding end, a hooked member having an adjustable connection with said upstanding end engageable upon the rear of a shoe to hold the heel against said longitudinal member, and a resilient member engageable upon the arch of the shoe sole, said resilient member being connected to the connecting means so as to be adjustable along the length of the longitudinal member.

13. A shoe tree comprising a longitudinal member adapted to be positioned against the bottom of a shoe, means carried thereby engageable upon the front and rear of the shoe for holding it firmly against the longitudinal member, and means adjacent the center of the longitudinal member adapted to resiliently engage the arch of the sole.

DOROTHY S. DRURY. 

